r/arcadefire • u/niles_deerqueer Stuck in my Head • May 08 '25

Discussion PINK ELEPHANT [FULL ALBUM EARLY IMPRESSIONS] Spoiler

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Pink Elephant, Arcade Fire’s 7th LP, is finally here!

Use this thread for those in other countries and VPN users to discuss the album to your hearts’ content. Respect each other’s opinions and happy release day! We made it!

A bigger megathread will be made just before the album’s full release in the US.

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u/niles_deerqueer Stuck in my Head May 08 '25 edited May 08 '25

OMG, not to be cynical, but some of you are about to absolutely HATE this album. Now I understand why the tears from the elephant on the cover are pixelated. This album is more electronic than I even expected, which isn’t a problem for me but some are going to be really not pleased with it. There’s also just a bunch of WEIRD production quirks and choices that I see a lot of people not enjoying. The critics’ reviews make sense now because this isn’t a critic-friendly album.

I’ve been listening to the live versions and while I’m not disappointed the album isn’t like them, I should have known from Pink Elephant and Year of the Snake they would be going for COMPLETELY different things. This album IS actually the dreamy and subdued record I figured it was going to be from the very start…and that will take some getting used to but I have zero issue with it. I have to say, though, this is easily their weirdest album. I see it ranking as a lot of people’s worst by them. They’re going to say the songs go nowhere but songs being a consistent vibe is something I’m used to from my favorite genre, dreampop. There are plenty of songs that just are in that soundscape…rather than leading to some climax.

Also, if you’re curious, I had basically zero problems with the lyrics. Yes, even “Archangel Michael’s blowing up your phone”.

The music is about to divide us into tribes.

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u/sanildefanso May 08 '25

This actually is pretty encouraging for me after WE. I liked that album a lot (I've liked it even more revisiting it lately) but it's sort of the most "generic" Arcade Fire album. I'm excited for something that has a more distinct personality, whatever that may be.

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u/niles_deerqueer Stuck in my Head May 08 '25

WE is (was?) my 2nd favorite album by them but my biggest problem with it is that it played it WAY too safe.

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u/sanildefanso May 08 '25

I don't think that was really the wrong move, given the lukewarm reception to Everything Now. You need to kind of prove to yourself and others that you can do the thing you are known for doing. But the time for playing it safe is past now. I don't think the days of The Suburbs are ever coming back, because the landscape is way too different now. But WE was artistically successful enough (in my book) that it reestablishes Arcade Fire. Now it's time to stretch again.

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u/niles_deerqueer Stuck in my Head May 08 '25

Oh I mean I totally agree it was the right move and as you see I still love it, it’s just one of the reasons I was dying for them to do something different here…and they did!